uTorrent – a popular BitTorrent client for Windows – has a little-known IP blocking feature which can help protect you from unwanted observation by anti-P2P organizations or government institutions. The easiest way to block unwanted IPs is to download and install PeerGuardian 2, but this software only works well in Windows XP so Windows Vista and Windows 7 users should follow this guide instead.

This guide will show you how to use a program called Blocklist Manager to retrieve and compile a list of all unwanted IPs, then use uTorrent’s built-in blocking feature to block them. Don’t worry about the length of the procedure, most of these steps only have to be performed once.

It should be noted that while blocking IPs can help hide your BitTorrent usage, it is not perfect and the absolute best method for staying safe is to avoid downloading copyrighted material.

Procedure

Open uTorrent and click Options –> Preferences.

Click Advanced and locate the entry ipfilter.enable and make sure it is set to true. Close uTorrent.

Download and install Blocklist Manager. Note: During installation, your virus scanner may warn you about an application called Win32/Angryscan.A. This software is optionally included with Blocklist Manager (and can be disabled during installation), but I do not consider it to be harmful.

Open Blocklist Manager and click the Sources button to download a directory of sources (Note: this does not actually download the block lists, just the directory of lists).

Click Tools –> Options.

Click Sources and enable any IP lists you would like to be protected from. I chose to block all lists except for the Non-LAN List, but the Level 1 and Level 2 lists would probably be sufficient for most users. Click OK.

Click the Process button to start downloading and compiling any IP lists you selected. This may take some time, so be patient while it processes the files.

Once the processing is finished, click Export –> Export Manager. This is where you will tell the program where to save your newly created block list so uTorrent can load it.

Note: you may need to enter ipfilter.dat in the File Name box if you encounter problems exporting the file later.

Check the ‘Export Location Active‘ box and click Add. Click OK.

In the main program again, click the Export List button. This will save the block list to the uTorrent folder you set in the previous step.

If prompted about overwriting an existing file, click Yes.

Once the export process has finished, verify that no errors occurred in the command area of the program. If none, your block list was successfully saved to the uTorrent folder.

Open uTorrent and click the Logger tab (as shown below). If you see a message stating that ipfilter.dat (# of entries) was loaded, everything worked properly!

It is very important to update your ipfilter.dat file regularly to get the most recent block lists. To do this, download the updated IP lists and export them by repeating Step 7 and Step 10 above, then restart uTorrent to load the new list.

After clicking the tinyurl link use the search box below the anti-leeching text and type in "ipfilter.dat" and click on the first link that shows up. It will take you to the post with the download link for the updater with instructions.

EurekaMan

Yeah, good guide. Thanks for the link.

Reis Pritchard

I load and update ipfilter.dat a different way that is easier for me…but this way works great too. Good guide.

After clicking the tinyurl link use the search box below the anti-leeching text and type in "ipfilter.dat" and click on the first link that shows up. It will take you to the post with the download link for the updater with instructions.

EurekaMan

Yeah, good guide. Thanks for the link.

mr t

thank you for this guide, everything worked well, i just hope the blockers do they're job

mr t

thank you for this guide, everything worked well, i just hope the blockers do they're job

aedosen

The blocklist manager contains malware/spyware called “angryscan” that tries to install when you download the program.

Angryscan (or Angry IP Scanner) is somewhat mislabeled as malware/spyware. This program is used to scan IP ranges (which can be used for security testing or malicious purposes), so certain companies consider it to be "malware".

From Microsoft:
"Tool:Win32/Angryscan.A is a tool used to 'sniff' for or gather information sent over a network by a specific IP address range."

Angryscan does not allow an intruder to scan your computer, it in fact lets you scan others' computers. It is included with Blocklist Manager as a 'feature' but it can be disabled during installation as shown in this image: http://www.techerator.com/wp-content/uploads/angr…

If you have already installed Angry IP Scanner unintentionally, it will not harm your computer. If you are concerned, remove Blocklist Manager under Start –> Control Panel –> Add or Remove Programs –> BLM and reinstall it with the Angry IP Scanner feature unchecked.

Angryscan (or Angry IP Scanner) is somewhat mislabeled as malware/spyware. This program is used to scan IP ranges (which can be used for security testing or malicious purposes), so certain companies consider it to be "malware".

From Microsoft:
"Tool:Win32/Angryscan.A is a tool used to 'sniff' for or gather information sent over a network by a specific IP address range."

Angryscan does not allow an intruder to scan your computer, it in fact lets you scan others' computers. It is included with Blocklist Manager as a 'feature' but it can be disabled during installation as shown in this image: http://www.techerator.com/wp-content/uploads/angr…

If you have already installed Angry IP Scanner unintentionally, it will not harm your computer. If you are concerned, remove Blocklist Manager under Start –> Control Panel –> Add or Remove Programs –> BLM and reinstall it with the Angry IP Scanner feature unchecked.

I followed the steps listed and received this error:
:: Error in WriteFile: Path/File access error, file=C:Users…..AppDataRoaminguTorrent
But I checked utorrent and it was showing up in the logger tab, I also hit "clear logger" which I apparently shouldn't have done. Does this mean I undid everything, or just that it's not viewable?
What do I do to make it show up again?

Clear logger will just clear any error messages, so any problems that occur should still show up next time you open the program.

Double check the file path you set in Step 9, it looks like that is the source of the error you saw.

CoolMCgool

i have received this error message, and im not sure what to do
Error in WriteFile: Path/File access error, file=C:UsersDefaultAppDataRoamingutorrentipfilter.dat

ive checked the file path that was set up in step 9 but its just keeps showing the same error the file is there and the folders are all there too. can you help? im on vista

Dee

I followed the steps listed and received this error:
:: Error in WriteFile: Path/File access error, file=C:Users…..AppDataRoaminguTorrent
But I checked utorrent and it was showing up in the logger tab, I also hit "clear logger" which I apparently shouldn't have done. Does this mean I undid everything, or just that it's not viewable?
What do I do to make it show up again?

Once you've followed the entire guide you will no longer need to keep Blocklist Manager running. All of the blocked IP addresses will be stored in ipfilter.dat which uTorrent uses.

Make sure to update the blocklist often though to keep the filters up-to-date.

Aethera

Thanks for these instructions – I also had the problem with the Export List step causing the error “Error in WriteFile: Path/File access error” under Windows 7. Here is the mistake I made – I thought that in the export manager that the path should be set to the AppData directory for uTorrent. It was not clear to me that the various blocklists from Blocklist Manager all get exported to a file in AppData/Roaming/uTorrent which *must* be named ipfilter.dat (I know you mention this but I missed this step – you might want to mention specifically that this name must be created, that all the blocklists get exported into this one file).
Blocklist Manager is a really cool app and I’m extremely glad I found it after the UAC issues with running PeerGuardian under Win7.
Thanks again Evan for your excellent article!

Aethera

Thanks for these instructions – I also had the problem with the Export List step causing the error “Error in WriteFile: Path/File access error” under Windows 7. Here is the mistake I made – I thought that in the export manager that the path should be set to the AppData directory for uTorrent. It was not clear to me that the various blocklists from Blocklist Manager all get exported to a file in AppData/Roaming/uTorrent which *must* be named ipfilter.dat (I know you mention this but I missed this step – you might want to mention specifically that this name must be created, that all the blocklists get exported into this one file).
Blocklist Manager is a really cool app and I’m extremely glad I found it after the UAC issues with running PeerGuardian under Win7.
Thanks again Evan for your excellent article!

Jason

Thanks man. Best guide I've found on this. Much appreciated!

Jason

Thanks man. Best guide I've found on this. Much appreciated!

Brian

Here's a tip so you can autoupdate your lists on launch. Go to Options -> Personal Sources -> Edit Exports button. Now select Add. Input whatever you want to the autoexport name field, select export type as eMule/Donk, and then input C:Users"user name"AppData[Roaming]uTorrent. Make sure it's saved as ipfilter.dat obviously.

Once that is done go back to the main Options menu and under General (default Options tab) select Download on startup (I also enabled Shutdown when done and Start Minimized in Tray for my own convenience – it will only ask you to rewrite the ipfilter.dat file in this hidden process, which it would do regardless if these options were enabled).

I have also created a batch file to autoupdate the lists and then launch uTorrent. This means every time I want to use uTorrent my lists are sure to be up to date! Here is what it looks like. Just change your uTorrent shortcut to (I dropped it in my uTorrent folder). You can also run it minimized by selecting Run: Minimzed to make it nearly autonomous. It should be pretty easy to figure out how to shorten the timer as well – but be sure to give Blocklist Manager a decent amount of time to update the list.

I would just like to add one more small tip to this one. If you would like to NOT be prompted for the overwriting of the file request, just go to: Tools > Options > General and from the area Processing, uncheck “Enable Export Warning”

😉

Brian

Here's a tip so you can autoupdate your lists on launch. Go to Options -> Personal Sources -> Edit Exports button. Now select Add. Input whatever you want to the autoexport name field, select export type as eMule/Donk, and then input C:Users"user name"AppData[Roaming]uTorrent. Make sure it's saved as ipfilter.dat obviously.

Once that is done go back to the main Options menu and under General (default Options tab) select Download on startup (I also enabled Shutdown when done and Start Minimized in Tray for my own convenience – it will only ask you to rewrite the ipfilter.dat file in this hidden process, which it would do regardless if these options were enabled).

I have also created a batch file to autoupdate the lists and then launch uTorrent. This means every time I want to use uTorrent my lists are sure to be up to date! Here is what it looks like. Just change your uTorrent shortcut to (I dropped it in my uTorrent folder). You can also run it minimized by selecting Run: Minimzed to make it nearly autonomous. It should be pretty easy to figure out how to shorten the timer as well – but be sure to give Blocklist Manager a decent amount of time to update the list.

Please note that "error count 1" isn't an actual error message, it just displays the total number of errors encountered. You may have to scroll up through the log to locate the original error.

DVL

Hi Brian, great tip. Thanks,

I added Blocklist manager into my "All Users" Startup group to auto update on Windows startup.

I had to set the following options also to get the list to update and export without prompting.
(Under Options/General/Processing)
Select the following;
>Auto Export Selected
Deselect the following
>Enable Export Warning.
This allows the ipfliter.dat to be overwritten without prompting for confirmation.

DVL

Hi Brian, great tip. Thanks,

I added Blocklist manager into my "All Users" Startup group to auto update on Windows startup.

I had to set the following options also to get the list to update and export without prompting.
(Under Options/General/Processing)
Select the following;
>Auto Export Selected
Deselect the following
>Enable Export Warning.
This allows the ipfliter.dat to be overwritten without prompting for confirmation.

Thanks Evan that did it! I did it the first time but I missed one of the check boxes.

fishnaipl

Wonderful guide! I’ve been exploring IP blockers lately. But since I use uTorrent, my first desire was to use the built-in ipfilter list. I’d already installed Blocklist Manager, but was having some trouble figuring out how to export the data to a uTorrent-readable file. Your guide was better than the ones I found at Bluetack/BISS. Cheers!

I’ve found a very good way of effortlessly updating the ipfilter.datUnder Tools>Options>GeneralMake sure the following check boxes are marked in addition to the defaults:Download on startupShutdown when doneMinimize and close to trayStart minimised in trayAuto export selctedWhat this does, despite the slightly decieving names, is complete steps 7 an 10 (as above) in the background and will only prompt you with the file overwrite confirmation. The program will then close.You can also select load tool bar at startup to have BLM run when you log inHopefully this will help someone, it’s certainly made my life eaier! 🙂

Cian

Followed all the steps and then at 13 I get the following messages:
[2011-09-09 18:40:24] IPv6 is installed
[2011-09-09 18:40:24] Got Teredo Address: 2001:0:5ef5:79fb:2ca5:b3e:a69a:2bcb[2011-09-09 18:40:24] Error opening Windows firewall: 0x80070005 Access is denied. Just wondering how to get around the Windows firewall, or is it a different issue?

THAT GUY

I got the same thing and didn’t see the “ipfilter.dat (# of entries)” at first so i simply closed the “Blocklist” program and my “uTorent” the n relaunched “Blocklist”. Once I did I clicked on “Export List” it asked me if I wanted to overwrite like it should have the first time, clicked Yes and then relaunched uTorrent and there it was working with no problem.

Current running Windows 7

michael

how come in C:/ drive I don’t see this AppDataRoaminguTorren. App data is not shown. when I click on roaming it shows intel. Some help to get by on this thanks